Those 'unpatriotic' protesters deserve an apology

Close to a year ago, one late summer Sunday morning, thousands of people gathered in Sydney in a peaceful protest. We were there to say "No war in Iraq. There is not sufficient evidence of the existence of weapons of mass destruction."

Our Government leaders called us rabble. They said we were unpatriotic and that we were supporters of the axis of evil.

We were correct. History will write a very critical and sad story of the activities of the "coalition of the willing" in which our Government played such an enthusiastic part.

Any chance of an apology to us or to all the innocent people who have suffered so dreadfully in this futile war, Mr Prime Minister?

Margaret Clark, St Ives, February 4.

On March 14, 2003, John Howard said: "I would have to accept that if Iraq had genuinely disarmed, I couldn't justify on its own a military invasion of Iraq to change the regime. I've never advocated that. Much in all as I despise the regime."

Now that he is finally joining the ranks of world leaders who accept that, indeed, Iraq almost certainly had disarmed itself of weapons of mass destruction, he would no doubt like us all to forget that he said that.

But we won't, Mr Howard.

Margaret Morgan, Turramurra, February 4.

So it looks as if Andrew Wilkie might have been correct all along. Judging by past performances I guess it's too much to expect John Howard to say sorry.

Hazel Popp, Summer Hill, February 4.

Seems Scott Ritter was right all along.

Marie Clugston, Springwood, February 4.

"Howard joins wave of doubt over WMD" (Herald, February 4). Is that a core or non-core doubt?

Fred Strassberg, Belrose, February 4.

What are weapon of mass destruction "programs"? Are they as tangible as the coalition's WMD? I imagine a "program" is about the size of a TV guide.

These are desperate times, so perhaps the PM could wave a sheet of A4 in Parliament. Anything in Arabic would do.

Warren Tindall, Bellingen, February 4.

It is symptomatic of the utter inhumanity of international politics, and specifically of the UN, that another reason has to be found, other than that he is a brutal murderous dictator, to justify getting rid of Saddam Hussein.

John Walker, Pennant Hills, February 4.

While US authorities use the ricin scare to further their fear of terrorism campaign; just a reminder. The anthrax that swept through mailrooms following September 11 came from US laboratories, not al-Qaeda.

Judith Leslie, Bulga, February 4.

At the very least we should be asking our leaders to justify spending billions of taxpayers' money on so-called "intelligence" when we seem to only use American intelligence, which presumably we receive for free.

Gina Behrens, Sanctuary Point, February 4.

So George Bush's approval rating re his performance on Iraq is down to 46 per cent and Democrat John Kerry has opened up a seven-point lead in the preferred president stakes (Herald, February 4).

God, those Yanks are anti-American.

Robert A. Pearce, Wilberforce, February 4.

Oh, boy. Wouldn't George Bush give just about anything for an honest face right now?

Rory O'Donoghue, Davidson, February 4.

What do the following institutions, countries and individuals all have in common? United Nations, France, Germany, Russia, USA, Britain, Australia, George Bush, Tony Blair, John Howard, Simon Crean, Kevin Rudd, to mention but a few.

Answer: they all agreed before the recent Iraq war that Iraq did possess WMD and was in breach of numerous UN resolutions. Even our own Richard Butler was totally convinced that Iraq possessed WMD before the war.

Now that the WMD supposedly cannot be located we are being bombarded by the Howard-hating, sanctimonious know-alls in Australia with the line that Mr Howard lied to the Australian people before the war and should apologise.

What balderdash. What these critics should be doing instead is using their energies to exert pressure on countries like Syria and Iran to open up their countries to full scrutiny by UNSCOM and similar organisations because they may be surprised what is found.

Peter Sussman, Sylvania Heights, February 3.

Progress on drugs more complex than slogans

For those working in the alcohol and other drugs sector it is heartbreaking and frustrating that debate on drug issues is constantly polarised between "tough on drugs" and "soft on drugs".

In practice these two "approaches" simply don't exist in isolation.

Tackling alcohol and other drug issues requires a comprehensive range of strategies aimed at: reducing the supply of drugs, for example through law enforcement and initiatives such as drug busts and enforcing liquor licensing laws; reducing the demand for drugs, through education and treatment and support programs; and reducing the harm caused by drugs to both the individual and the community, by, for example, enforcing .05 blood alcohol legislation, and implementing needle and syringe programs and supervised injecting rooms.

These initiatives have been proven to protect the broader community while keeping affected people alive until they are able to recover.

These three pillars are what harm minimisation is all about and Australia is world-renowned for its holistic approach. The time for simplistic rhetoric is over.

If politicians are really serious about tackling alcohol and other drug problems then they will stop using drug issues as a political football and adopt a bipartisan approach that recognises the complexity of the issues involved.

Cheryl Wilson, Alcohol and Other Drugs Council of Australia, Woden (ACT), February 4.

Any fool knows colour pictures of diseased organs on cigarette packets won't stop people smoking. Something similar was tried with election posters, but the mugs are still voting.

Michael Cullin, Paynesville, February 4.

Heights of hypocrisy

Genia McCaffery ("Development plan an act of lunacy", Herald, February 4) makes sure we all know who is to approve the building that will take away "one of the most prized harbour vistas" in North Sydney. We are all grateful, I'm sure, that it won't be North Sydney Council, of which she is mayor, and which is famous for its record in approving architectural magnificence.

I wonder who was it who approved the line of concrete monstrosities that runs down Milsons Point?

Chris Edye, Pymble, February 4.

It is ironic that the Mayor of North Sydney, Genia McCaffery, should lead the complainants against the proposed 14-storey tower at Luna Park. This is the mayor whose refusal to compromise - or even negotiate - on the issue of on-site parking led to the State Government stripping North Sydney Council of its planning powers and seizing control of the development.

Jilly Gibson, Kirribilli, February 4.

The biggest challenge waiting for our cities is the approaching end of the period of cheap and plentiful oil, which has shaped our built environment up to now ("Designs for a better space age", Herald, February 4).

We need to restructure it with the overriding objective of reducing our energy consumption to levels commensurate with the availability of renewable energies. If we fail in this task in the next decades, no amount of aesthetic improvement in building design will rescue us.

Matt Mushalik, Epping, February 4.

Dissenters can buy in

Another CEO resigns, another huge payout ensues, and the usual whining socialists cry out at the alleged injustices within the private sector.

Executive packages are determined by a company's board of directors, and are both legal and binding. If you want to change the system, here's a simple solution - buy lots of shares and become a director. In the meantime, save your breath and study basic economics.

Teachers still learning

Teachers are charged, on a daily basis, with evaluating the performance of hundreds of thousands of the state's schoolchildren across a broad range of subjects.

Yet when it comes to potential ways of measuring their own performance they are bereft of ideas.

Gerard Kirwan, Cremorne, September 4.

Seeking the real price

As usual, Ross Gittins ("A cost comfort that's imported", Herald, February 4) clarifies the conundrum of why inflation last year was officially a low 2.4 per cent, while it seemed to this consumer far higher.

The one point he could have made was that the items with highest price rises tended to be necessities purchased frequently (e,g., food, school and child-care costs), as opposed to those bought infrequently (whitegoods, cars and electronic equipment, etc).

The prices of the items that are infrequently purchased surely skew the statistics, hiding the pain of the day-to-day reality.

Don Beresford, Surry Hills, February 4.

In providing a breakdown of last week's CPI announcement, Ross Gittins makes one thing quite clear - pensioners are struggling.

The necessities of life rose between 4.6 per cent and 15.6 per cent in that same period. With these increases, I can't imagine there being many pensioners even contemplating the purchase of the luxury items that lowered the CPI to 2.4 per cent - cars, stereos, TVs, fridges, stoves, washing machines, overseas travel etc.

Instead of patting himself on the back, the Treasurer would do well to give thought to the effect this CPI had on pensioners and their standard of living.

Robyn Stinson, Randwick, February 4.

True believers in a game of call my bluff, so to speak

Thank you, Dr Tom Hubble, for your kind invitation, through the Herald's Letters page (February 4), to speak to your students. I accept. On my part I hereby invite you to speak to students at Moore Theological College.

You may also be interested in our master's course on science and Christianity, run with the help of a noted theoretical physicist, Professor Ross McKenzie, of the University of Queensland. I will be in touch to confirm the details.

Dr Peter Jensen, Archbishop of Sydney, Sydney, February 4.

I would suggest to Dr Hubble that religious institutions have already opened up their "turf" to the theories and methods of science and technology. As a student growing up in the Catholic education system, the turf of the church if you will, not only did we study the teachings and revelations of Christ (which incidentally are at least as important a part of my everyday life as the wonders of science and technology) as well as comparative religious studies, but in fact spent 90 per cent of our study week engrossed in the theories and methodology of the pure and social sciences.

So you can imagine my surprise in later life, when studying on the turf of the University of Sydney sciences and law departments, to find a hostility and militant indifference to discussions on the not necessarily competing claims of science and religion. How very insular.

The challenge is for advocates of scientism and the scientific method to respectfully open up their turf as well as their minds to the theories and methodologies of alternative bodies of thought and belief.

Marc Whittaker, Lidcombe, February 4.

Fergus Hancock (Letters, February 4) suggests an exercise in comparative religious instruction in schools. It is indicated that such instruction might be given by a group of priests, ministers, imams, etc. Hopefully, the "etc" includes an atheist so that a little balance might be found.

John Hinde, Sydney, February 4.

Leave this honest man alone, or at least afloat

I have had a gutful of the Rene Rivkin bashing in these pages. He is a decent, honest man who has been pushed to seek the best medical/legal advice money can buy. How can anyone endure detention in a prison from Friday to Sunday?

If by chance there is something to those trumped-up charges, why can't he be put under boat arrest? A great one of the city is entitled to negotiate his own terms. We owe him that, don't we?

Friday will be a dark day in the history of this country.

Bruce Woodhouse, Marrickville, February 4.

Tom Donnellan (Letters, February 4) wants to know if anyone is willing to bet on Rene turning up to jail this Friday. I suppose it depends whether or not you have insider information.

Bill Carpenter, Bowral, February 4.

Abreast of the matter

The Americans had their detractors following the war in Iraq, but it took Janet Jackson to really bring out the knockers.

Paul Falconer, Thirroul, February 4.

In order, of course, to convey just how shocking the revelation of Janet Jackson's breast was, it will, I suspect, be necessary for the media to keep reproducing the relevant image.

Brent Howard, Rydalmere, February 4.

Millions of Americans, among them many children, have been exposed to the horror of seeing a naked female breast on prime-time television.

I do hope a few hours of the usual violence and crime will help them recover from the shock.

Thomas Voirol, Balmain, February 4.

Spammer in the works

One of the handsome young men in my office laughingly told me he'd just received a spam offer to "date a Ralph model".

He stopped laughing when I informed him that this could well mean a rendezvous with me (a fortyish Earlwood mother-of-two) - I had received a spam invitation to "be a Ralph model" earlier the same day.

Jaine P. Stockler, Earlwood, February 4.

Marvellous in defeat

If they ever build another Titanic, I can think of no nobler captain than Heath Streak.

Bernie Bourke, Ourimbah, February 4.

Laughed out of court

The Chief Justice of NSW, James Spigelman, wants barristers to start charging reasonable fees. He'll be expecting them to pay tax next.

Malcolm Scoggins, St Ives, February 4.

Check the ball size

I don't know how they measured hailstones before golfballs came along (Letters, February 4), but I do know that when I drove past Moore Park last weekend my car was nearly hit by golf balls the size of hailstones.

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